


here with me (you'll never have to be alone)

by noona96n



Category: GOT7, K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Idols, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fanboy, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, additional relationships to be added - Freeform, tragic backstoryTM - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-01-29 18:30:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12636741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noona96n/pseuds/noona96n
Summary: Fanboy with a backstoryTM!Choi Youngjae goes to a JJ Project fansign and catches the attention of hisulTIMATE CRUSHbias Im Jaebum.In which Youngjae is a fan and Jaebum is the idol who falls in love with him and the universe conspires to get them together and make sure they stay together because they deserve all the happiness in the world.INDEFINITE HIATUS





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by masternim CYJ taking shaky vid of JB at a fansign. Honestly, it was supposed to be short with an Oppa-kink smut but lmao shits happened and it turn into this angst-y ish. I love angst lmao.
> 
> (Rated M for language. Rating might go up in later chapters because who knows, there could be smut lmao.)  
> (Also, this is kinda sloppy and unbeta'd so please be kind.)

Youngjae is surprised to step into the staff room at the back of the Café to find Jackson lounging about on the sofa. It is only natural that Jackson, being the co-owner of Little Birdie Café and Eatery, is inside the staff room. But the thing is, Jackson's a night-owl who prefers to manage the café after the sunset when the café turns into a lounge and the music is slow and sensual and the lights are dimmer than the moon. Mark's the sane one who keeps the account and manages during the day. Well, to be honest, Mark isn't really sane either; he has too many hobbies and sets up impromptu galleries inside the café and pays Youngjae too much for a job behind the counter.

Youngjae tries not to be surprised when Jackson turns to look at him, a lollipop hanging out of his mouth. It's 7:30 in the morning, why the fuck is he eating candy so early in the morning? Youngjae must've said that out loud because Jackson bursts out laughing, the sound high pitched and contagious and Youngjae finds himself laughing along even though he feels himself turning scarlet with embarrassment.

"Well good morning to you, you rude otter." Jackson says after a while and Youngjae pouts.

"Hyung~" Youngjae whines as he opens his locker, his apron spills out and he struggles to catch the fabric. Jackson bursts out laughing again and Youngjae turns to glare at him. Mark pokes his head out of the office to look at the both of them and Youngjae takes the opportunity to be childish and points an accusatory finger at Jackson. He whines at Mark "Hyung~ Jackson-hyung is being mean to me!"

Mark coos at his adoringly before turning back inside and Jackson doubles over on the sofa. Youngjae resists the urge to stomp his feet. He's a grown ass man with jobs and responsibilities, there's a limitation to how childish he can be.

"Yah! Get here you baby~" Jackson calls out just as Youngjae sulkily walks toward the door to the front. He turns to pouts at Jackson and sees the older patting the seat next to him. Youngjae shakes his head and sticks out his tongue playfully before crossing his arms.

"Come on, I have a gift for you." Jackson says, this time his expression is soft instead of teasing. Youngjae hesitates for a moment, thinking about the last time Jackson got him a gift. It was a few days ago, on his birthday, and Jackson got him the toy cockroach thing that runs around. Youngjae screamed so much and pounded his shoulders so hard Jackson literally plastered himself to the floor laughing.

As if sensing what's going on inside Youngjae's head, Jackson tucks a piece of paper out of his jacket and wave it around. He tells Youngjae "See, I'm not pranking you this time. It's a real gift."

Youngjae skeptically walks over and takes a seat. Jackson smiles and hands the paper over. He says "I wasn't sure I'd get it but like miracles happen you know, so voila! Happy belated birthday you dork, I'm sorry I pranked you the other day."

Youngjae carefully takes the paper and turns it over. He screams when he sees it. It's a pass. A motherfucking VIP pass to JJ Project's fanmeeting at the end of the week. Youngjae screams and jumps onto Jackson's lap, squeezing him tight in a hug. He vaguely hears Mark laughing as he passes by and a vague head rubbing.

"Hyung, how the hell did you get this? This is like super-duper hard to get, how the hell did you get this hyungie? How?" Youngjae demands, scrambling off Jackson. The older sniffs shyly and replies "Well, you know how Jinyoung comes to the café from time to time? Well I got to know him quite well when he started to frequent during the night and I kinda just told him one of the staff is a huge fan and I kinda asked if I could get a ticket."

"Oh my god. No way." Youngjae stares in disbelief, he continues "No way hyung! It can't be that easy! Like mostly only fansite masters are at the fansigns and that's because they're _offered_ tickets to go because they’re fansite masters."

Jackson scratches his head sheepishly and then Youngjae sees Mark pops up next to him and patting his head. The older says "Don't think your pretty little head off about it Youngjae-ah. I've learn not to question Jackson's _method_."

He winks suggestively and Youngjae makes a scandalized face. He turns to look at Jackson and finds Jackson glaring at Mark playfully.

Jackson stretches his leg out as of to kick Mark and exclaims "Yah! Why are you making it sound dirty and illegal?"

Mark laughs and Youngjae questions Kackson urgently "Hyung, you didn't do anything dirty and illegal, did you?"

Jackson sighs and clicks his tongues "No you dork, I'm a decent human being! I'm just a good friend with Jinyoung!"

Mark says "Right," he pauses before dramatically continuing with a smirk “ _friend_.”

His tone is suggestive and Youngjae stares at Jackson again. He groans and this time makes an actual effort to kick Mark. The oldest giggles and slaps Jackson’s leg in retaliation and tugs Youngjae up. Mark pats Youngjae’s back lightly "Come on Youngjae-ah, moon over it later. We gotta help Hyeri sets up shop before the customers start arriving."

Youngjae allows himself to stand dazedly and puts the pass into his shirt pocket. But then he takes it out, afraid that it might fall out during work. He looks at Mark with a serious face and says, gesturing toward his locker, "Mark-hyungie, I need to put the ticket in a safe place first."

Jackson chuckles and Mark smiles lopsidedly at him. He sighs "Okay Baby Jae, but don't take too long alright."

"Kay." Youngjae mumbles and hurriedly goes over toward his locker to stash the pass inside the most secure pocket of his bag.

-

Youngjae's shift finishes at 1, meaning he has an hour to wash up and have lunch before he has to get to his other job as a vocal trainer at the local music school. But on his way out of work today, he takes special care to ask around for Jackson; seeking him out to give him a proper thank. Mina, the residence darling waitress, gestures at the office before she rushes into the kitchen and rushing back to the counter.

Youngjae knocks on the door twice before pushing in when he doesn't get an answer. Mark is nowhere to be found, probably still super busy at the cashier even though it's already after one and lunch rush hour should be letting up. Jackson is in as promised though, lazing around on the couch half asleep.

Youngjae steps in and calls out his name softly as he pats his bicep. It's really muscle-y and he squeeze the flesh playfully until Jackson opens his eyes.

"Oh, Jae-ah." Jackson mumbles, sounding asleep and Youngjae feels a little guilty for waking him up. The older continues "What's up?"

Youngjae beams "Well, uhm, I just want to say thanks you again hyungie."

Jackson coos and opens his arms. Youngjae falls in and allows Jackson to rock him back and forth like the baby he secretly is. Jackson pats his back gently and Youngjae sighs contently, murmuring "Thanks lots hyungie."

Jackson hums and replies "Anything for you baby Jae, anything for you." before he lets up.

Youngjae clutches the straps of his bag and resists the urge to hug Jackson again. Jackson gives one of the best hug ever and Youngjae loves it when he has Jackson's strong arm enveloping him ad swaying him gently. Instead he gives the older man his brightest smile and says "Well, I'm off to work now hyungie. See you later."

"Aw, Youngjae is all grown up and working so hard. Bam and I are so proud of you, you otter." Jackson calls out, clutching a hand over his heart dramatically. Youngjae rolls his eyes fondly and leaves with a huge smile.

-

Youngjae doesn’t meet Bambam at the music school they work at. Bambam must’ve been busy, he muses. After all, Bambam is the best dance instructor in their school, no bias, totally. He has no small shortage of students and admirers who look up to him at school. And with the successful fashion blog he shares with Jackson, Bambam has a legion of fans. Well, not as big as JJ Project’s, of course, but still fans, who sent him gifts and donates in his name. It’s quite insane really, even Bambam is baffled by it.

Just then, his class starts to become full as soon as the bell rings. Youngjae smiles at his few students fondly and claps his hand together. He begins “Well, we won’t be having class this Saturday since I’m a bit preoccupied.” Youngjae pauses when the four of them groans in disappointment. He can see Sehyun pouting at him, so he laughs. He continues after a beat “So either you guys have class with someone else for the day or you can choose to have a make-up class with me later on.”

Chinhwa perks up and claims with a bright smile “With you of course Seonsaengnim.”

Youngjae smiles in return, that kid is so kind and cute; he has a special space in Youngjae’s heart. He tries not to be biased, of course, but Chinhwa reminds Youngjae far too much of himself. Youngjae frowns, momentarily hating himself, and snapping back to reality with a sharp inhale. His kids look at him worryingly and Youngjae smile reassuringly before he announces “You guys figure out what day you like and tell me okay? I will work my schedule around you guys, kay?”

They mumble a soft ‘yes’ and then Ki suddenly asks “Seonsaengnim, why are you suddenly busy?”

Youngjae’s first instinct is to blush, so he blushes. He doesn’t even know why he’s blushing. Gosh, he’s so silly sometimes.

Sehyun gasps at his coloring and smacks Ki on the shoulder, making her yelps. Sehyung exclaims with dramas “Oh my god! You are so dumb Ki-yah! Seonsaengnim’s probably gonna go on a date. Geez.”

Youngjae sputters and the other two boys laugh at him, making him pouts at his students. He puts on a stern face and scolds them lightly “Yah! Yah! Stop it you brat. We’ve got work to do and I hope you guys did that breathing exercise I gave you.”

All four groans and Youngjae bursts out laughing cheerfully as he walks toward the keyboard.

-

Bambam teases him as soon as he steps into their shared apartment. The first thing out of his mouth when he spots Youngjae struggling to make dinner at their kitchen is this: “Jackson told me you’re gonna go meet your crush this weekend. Heard you’re canceling the class with your kids just for it.”

Youngjae huffs and turns around to see Bambam wiggling his eyebrows playfully as he unbuttons his sleeves. He replies “They’re not my kids.” But not denying the part about the crush, because who is he kidding, JB _is_ his crush, Youngjae doesn’t like to admit out loud because it’s silly. JB is _JB_ and he’s _Youngjae_ , JB doesn’t even know Youngjae exists.

Bambam laughs and side steps their mess of a living room to get to the kitchen counter. Youngjae turns back to the chicken and chops particularly loud, making Bambam laughs even louder. The younger coos at him and rubs his lower back consolingly. He sing-songs “Aw hyungie, I’m just playing~ Don’t be mad~” and then he’s pulling back, rolling up his sleeves before helping Youngjae makes dinner.

It ends up with Bambam doing most of the cooking, like always, and Youngjae sitting on the side passing utensils and spices. At times like this, Youngjae’s mind always wonders to dark places and asks himself why Bambam keeps him around. He’s practically useless, not just at home but in general. He’s a messy person that plays games till late night and sleep on the couch more than he does his bedroom and leaves a mess everywhere for Bambam to clean up. The only thing he does around the house is contribute to the rent, which Bambam is more than capable of paying himself, and make music.

Bambam makes a particularly pleased sound with the soup and Youngjae is drawn out of his thoughts. He’s grateful that Bambam is willing to share his living space with him, Youngjae thinks as he rests his cheeks on his knees. Bambam scoops up a spoonful for Youngjae and he swallows happily. He gives Bambam his brightest smile and a big thumb up at the taste.

“Delicious~” Youngjae sings and giggles happily before passing Bambam a bowl and makes the younger fill it for him. Bambam laughs but does what was silently asked for anyways.

They stay like that for a while, Bambam eating from the stow and Youngjae sitting next to him slurping happily from his bowl. It’s quiet, and Youngjae hums now and then to fill the silence. Suddenly Bambam perks up “When are you gonna meet JJ Project?”

Youngjae squawks “It’s not a meeting Bammie. It’s a fansign.”

Bambam rolls his eyes, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He says “Where you can meet them up close and personal and maybe get to _touch_ them hyung.” His eyebrows wiggle suggestively and Youngjae pinches his belly.

“Ow!” Bambam shrieks, pulling away. “But for real hyung, when though?”

Youngjae shrugs and Bambam gasps dramatically. He exclaims with the same amount of drama in his tone “Hyung do you even _know_ what you’re gonna wear??”

Youngjae shrugs again and Bambam shrieks, absolutely horrified. Youngjae stares at him, about to chides him but then Bambam is tugging him off the stool as he mumbles “Absolutely scandalous! Going to see your crush and you don’t even _know_ what to wear? I taught you better than this hyung!”

Youngjae giggles at Bambam’s drama “Bammie, it’s just a fansign.”

Bambam looks at him judgingly and scolds “My god hyung, you could never know what could happen!” He pushes inside Youngjae’s room and rummages inside the closet. Bambam tells him “I will make sure you _so_ look good, they won’t be able to resist you.”

This time, Youngjae bursts out laughing loudly at the ridiculousness of it. It’s not like JJ Project’s gonna notice him, he’s Youngjae and they’re Korean’s hottest duo. But Youngjae just laughs, rolling around on his bed, and let Bambam does whatever makes him happy. Besides, Younjgae thinks, it doesn’t hurt to look good as fuck in front of your crush.

-

The Big Day, more like D-Day, Youngjae can hear Bambam interjects with his signature suggestive eyebrows wiggling, doesn't come soon enough. But when it does Youngjae is scared shitless.

He's sitting inside Little Birdie stewing in nervousness about what to say and how to act and just what to _do_ in general. The tightness of the ripped jeans that Bambam picked out for him only amplifies it. He picks at the seam uselessly, Mark's borrowed camera dangling like weights around his neck.

Jackson must've seen how wrecked he is because the older pushes off counter where he's temporarily manning the cashier while Mark and Bambam goes around to take the car from their local parking lot. Jackaon ruffles his hair and says "Yo, kid, don't be so nervous."

Youngjae looks up and feels like crying, but he doesn't because Bambam worked so hard to put on the light eyeshadow and the lipstick. Instead, he whines "But hyung, what do I do? What do I say? How do I act?"

Jackson pats his shoulder lightly "Just be yourself baby Jae. Jinyoung absolutely loved you and I'm sure JB will too."

Youngjae is momentarily lost for word. He blinks twice in confusion and Jackson withdraws like he's caught doing something he hasn't. Youngjae asks "What?"

Jackson laughs anxiously and Youngjae grabs his hand to make him stay in place. He narrows his eyes suspiciously and demands "Yah hyyung what are you saying? What did you do?"

Jackson laughs again and Youngjae's about to make another demand when the doorbell chimes and a group of students walk in. The older pulls away and says "Well, that's my cue to work. See you later Jae-ah, and have fun. They'll love you, I just know it!"

"Yah, hyung!" Youngjae whines, standing up as if to follow Jackson but the doorbell chimes again and Bambam hollers for Youngjae to get his ass into the car. Youngjae leaves the café with anticipations and nervousness licking at his heels.

It turns out arriving at the fansign makes Youngjae numbs rather than super-duper extra excited like he had expected. He feels himself sweating at the palms and Bambam walks with him until the ticket booth.

"Well, I'll be around hyung. So, just give me a call when you're done okay? I'll come pick you up." Bambam tells him, patting him down and making sure he has everything. The younger squeezes his arm reassuringly and continues “Have fun and takes lots of pictures, yeah?”

Youngjae nods dumbly and waves before falling in line with the other fans. And by the time he knows it, Youngjae finds himself sitting at the far back by the door with a few girls giggling in his face. Youngjae blinks twice before he can put a smile on his face. He says unsurely "Hi?"

The girls giggle again and one of them with the ponytail asks "Well we were just wondering if you're cyj_ars... I mean we follow him on IG and his covers are amazing and you look so much like him you know?"

Youbgjae blushes, unused to such openly displayed praised from a total stranger. "Well," he starts, voice small "I am cyj_ars..."

The other girl with a short bob shrieks "See! I told you!"

There's a small commotion amongst the girls and another one with curly hair apologizes "Sorry about her... She's absolutely bonker about you. A lot of us are, to be honest."

"No, no, it's fine." Youngjae reassures, blushing furiously when the curly hair girl winks at him. The other swoons a bit. "Uhm." he mumbles uselessly and the one with the ponytail smiles down at him kindly "So, your first fanmeeting?"

Youngjae blushes again and the girls laugh. The curly hair one says "Just follow the other's lead and you'll be fine." Youngjae nods in understanding and she goes on "Well it's not like JJP’s gonna remember us, normal fans, anyways so, I don't know, have fun I guess?"

Youngjae nods again and the three seems to lead the few other girls away from Youngjae. The one with the bob waves at him with a bright giggly smile and Youngjae tries his best to wave back cheerfully.

A few more fans recognize him after that, coming up to speak with him and saying pretty words to him. Youngjae's blush keeps on getting redder and redder with each compliment and he's about to explode from it.

Suddenly everyone seems to quiet down and Youngjae is left alone as the light on the stage dims. Youngjae shakes in excitement in his seat as he strains his neck up to catch a glimpse of his idols on stage. He isn't disappointed. They look absolutely divine. And they sound even more divine. It's like a religious experience for Youngjae, and he hates to use that word after what happened. But seriously, a _religious experience_.

After the dance intro and the soft ballads, it's time for questions and games and the two of them plays off each other so well it makes Youngjae so incredibly happy somehow. The camera flashlights go off nonstop one after another as fansite masters desperately tries to capture JJP's perfection. Youngjae finds himself playing with the strap of his borrowed camera rather than lifting it up and taking photos. He's finally able to see them so close, it's such a waste to look at them through the viewfinder. Instead Youngjae finds himself pushing off his seat to catch a glimpse of them. A glimpse of JB. And he'd sit there contendly, following JB with his eyes like how the moon follows its orbit. And he'd laugh when JB laughs, and smiles along with him for no particular reason at all. Youngjae feels so happy his belly flutters and his heart feel so full he's afraid it might burst.

And then JB and Jinyoung are getting behind their table and putting on various props the masternims gifted them. Youngjae finds himself setting the camera down and standing in line with the other fans, waiting for his turn to get a signature on his album. He brought his favorite, JJ Project's third mini album with the all the songs that pulled him out of the slum. It's the first JJ Project' album he bought and he's so incredibly proud of it. Youngjae clutches it tighter to his chest, his eyes trained on Jinyoung and JB on the stage. Both of them have a polite smile plastered on their faces and Youngjae finds his attention being fixed on JB more than Jinyoung again. There's something about the smile on JB's lips though. A bit too polite, a bit too closed off; and Youngjae doesn't claim to be a psychologist but he thinks that maybe JB's uncomfortable. He wonders if it's because of the fan JB's talking to. He hopes he doesn't make JB uncomfortable. Or make Jinyoung feels uncomfortable speaking with him. He hopes they're happy when they speak with him and maybe leave some sort of good impression onto their memory. But who is he kidding really, Youngjae scoffs and mentally scolds himself.

He looks down and fingers the cover nervously, thinking about what the curly haired girl said to him earlier and tries not to be disappointed. Well, at least Youngjae gets to see them up close and have a short conversation with them; and that is enough really. More than he could ever dream of and Youngjae smiles lightly, letting his feet carry him closer to his ultimate bias.

One of the staffs gestures for him to go up stage and Youngjae sees Jinyoung looking at his with a frown. Oh god, he's not even there yet and he's already making his idol feels discomfort. Jinyoung cocks his head to the side in thoughts, the polite smile still on his lips. He opens his hand to except Youngjae's album and looks at it in surprised. It's an album that's been out a couple of years already, of course he'd be surprised, Youngjae reasons as Jinyoung looks up at him with that overly polite smile and asks "So, who am I addressing this album to?"

"Youngjae," Youngjae manages to rasps out amidst his wildly beating heart "Choi Youngjae."

"Youngjae." Jinyoung repeats, testing his name on his tongue and cocking his head to the side. Suddenly his smile turns genuine and he exclaims excitedly "Oh! That's why you look so familiar!"

JB turns to look at Jinyoung with a raised eyebrow from the excitement before turning back to the fan in front of him. Jinyoung continues "You're the bartender with the pretty voice at Jacksonnie's café!"

Huh, Youngjae thinks, Jackson-hyung wasn't lying when he said he's friend with Jinyoung. And then Youngjae blushes bright red when he realizes Jinyoung just complimented his voice.

"I saw you a few times working the coffee machine when I went there in the morning." Jinyoung says, opening the album cover. He adds "Never thought you'd have such a great voice."

Wait, how did Jinyoung knows he has a great voice?

"How did you know I have a great voice?" Youngjae squeaks out, voice too high pitched in panic.

Jinyoung looks up from writing, eyes crinkling a bit from the smile he has plastered on his lips. He replies "Oh, Jackson showed me some of your covers. You're very very good."

Youngjae squeaks again, covering his burning face with his hands. Oh god, he's going to kill Jackson.

Jinyoung laughs, tone flat like his usual laugh and a bit too loud. Youngjae peaks through the holes between his fingers and sees JB looking at them both questioningly. Jinyoung plays with the album a bit before passing it toward JB with a meaningful glance. He says "Well, I heard this is your belated birthday gift so happy belated birthday."

Youngjae lets down his hands and nods shyly at Jinyoung. The singer smiles warmly at him "I hope you're having fun Youngjae-shi and I hope we can make you happy."

Youngjae nods again and walks toward JB. His ultimate _ultimate_ bias, crush, his mind suplies traitorously, opens the album cover and promptly looks amused. JB looks up at him and Youngjae internally screams at how unfairly beautiful JB is when he's this close. The idol, seemingly unknowing of Youngjae's internal freak out, simply asks with a voice that is laced with amusement, "Baby otter?"

Youngjae's face heats up again and his hands cover his face once again in embarrassment. He hears Jinyoung laughing from the other side of the table and Youngjae vows to himself that he will absolutely kill Jackson. How could he??

"I hope I get the nickname right." Jinyoung says jokingly and Youngjae's blush gets redder. Eventually he nods and Jinyoung turns back to talking to the girl in front of him while JB hums under his breathe. His lip quirks into a lopsided smile and he tells Youngjae with a serious voice "Very cute nickname you have there."

Silence for a moment as JB smirks and says with a hint of sweet lilt to his voice "Goes very well with your cute self of course."

Youngjae's blush intensifies and he feels like he's going to explode any minute now. So, he sinks onto the floor and grips the edge of the table to steady himself, banging his head lightly on the edge. He can hear JB laughing, and when Youngjae peers up at him behind the table's edge, he sees JB's smile turn genuine and his eyes narrow into crescent moons on his face. Youngjae smiles along with him.

JB gingerly helps him to his feet and sits down again. He asks with an amused smiled "Well, ugh, Baby otter-shi, what do you want me to write?"

Youngjae pouts "Youngjae."

"Pardon?"

"My name," Youngjae clarifies "It's Youngjae"

"Ah," JB makes a noise of understanding. He continues with a sultry voice, and Youngjae’s inside literally melt into a goo "do you have any request, Youngjae-shi?"

Youngjae shakes his head and JB raises a fine brow. He looks and looks and _looks_ at Youngjae and in that moment Youngjae feels like everything stop. There's no flashlights, no shoutout from fans, no nothring; just the two of them looking at each other, admiring each other. And Youngjae finds himself drowning and drowning and _drowning_ in that chocolate pool.

Then one of the coordi noona clears her throat and the spell is broken. She leans down to whisper into JB’s ear, JB's eyes are still fixed on him, his hand twirling the silver pen around lazily and Youngjae squirms on his feet. JB smiles at him one last time before he looks down to write something on the album. He hands it back with a very _very_ sexy smirk that turns Youngjae into jelly once again and says with that _voice_ of his "I hope you have fun Baby otter-shi."

Youngjae manages to mumbles a 'thank you' as he takes the album back and blushes all the way to his seat. He can feel eyes on him, and he clutches the album protectively to his chest and wills his face to be less heated.

Youngjae feels giddy and bubbly and unbelievably happy the rest of the fansign. Bouncing his legs up and down throughout the rest of it and smiling until his cheeks hurt. He got to talk to his idols. Interacted with them for a short but very meaningful moment. And they seemed to like him. Youngjae beams again when his eyes meet Jinyoung's and the singer gives him a small appreciative smile. But then the staff announce the end of the fansign and Jinyoung turns to speak with JB as they stare at Youngjae's direction. Youngjae tries not to be full of himself and thinks that they're talking about him but they're staring at him so hard it’s difficult to think otherwise.

After a few minutes of talking and consulting their phones, JJ Project finally takes the mics from the staffs and thank the fans. The background music is turned on and Youngjae can hear their latest song come on. It's becoming one of Youngjae's top five favorite song of JJ Project if he's being honest with himself.

"One last song before we part ways~" Jinyoung sings into the microphone and jumps off the stage with JB. Youngjae finds himself cheering excitedly with the other fans.

The both of them walk around serenading the fans and earning coos from all over the room. And then Jinyoung is at the back of the auditorium, walking down the row toward him. Then he puts the mic in front of Youngjaa's face expectantly. Youngjae looks at him dumbly so the idol leans down to mumble with an encouraging smile "Go on, sing."

Youngjae blinks twice, feeling the eyes of the whole room on him. He swallows nervously and Jinyoung shakes the mic in front of him, that encouraging smile never leaving his lips. He grabs the mic, open his mouth and sings. He can see Jinyoung beaming at him and laughing happily. Youngjae finds himself feeling just as happy when he hears JB's voice accompanying his to the end of the song.

The best day of his life, Youngjae thinks and hands the mic back to an applauding Jinyoung with a dazzling smile on his face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's ass o'clock in Phnom Penh right now so please excuse the mess
> 
> also, I have a few questions at the end; so please answer if you could, I would really appreciate it <3

Somehow, the best day of your life can also turn into one of the worst day of your life.

One second, Youngjae is laughing and feeling high with euphoria from singing with JJ Project. And the next there are people crowding him, invading his space, and saying mean things to him.

“Don’t get it in your head kid,” one of them spits out angrily, her lips are too red and all Youngjae can think about in that moment is redredred. Youngjae hugs his bag tightly against his chest, trying to get away from the hallway.

“You’re nothing special!” a guy shouts into his face and pushes him against the wall. The concreate grates against his shirt and he feels the texture scraping against his skin uncomfortably.

“Just because you have a pretty face and can sing doesn't make you any special!” another one of the fans shrieks before grabbing Youngjae’s bag and yanks it away. Youngjae shouts and tries to get to his bag, feeling tears welling up in his eyes when a few of the fans rummage through his bag and take out the album. And he does cry when he sees the album’s cover being flipped open. He hasn’t even read what Jinyoung and JB wrote on it yet.

“Yah!” a shrilled voice cut through the hall and things seem to calm down momentarily as the group of people that surrounds him turns around to the source of noise. “Security!” the voice screams out again, this time closer, and Youngjae feels like he can breathe again as the fans scramble to get away.

“God, are you okay?” another voice asks and Youngjae looks up from his position on the floor to see the short hair girl from before. He wants to answer but finds that he lost his voice for a moment there, so instead he just sits there shaking slightly. The girl slowly helps him to his feet and Youngjae spies the few other girls he saw during the fansign gathering his stuff.

“He can sue you for this!” the curly hair girl from before says and the few harassing fans that were bold enough to stay glares at her, unafraid. The ponytail girl zips his bag and struts toward Youngjae with confidence. She hands his bag over and turns back around when the one with the bob hands him a wad of tissue to wipe his tears.

“So?” Youngjae hears one of the bad fan says, nonchalant like she’s unafraid of the consequence of the law. The curly hair girl hisses and the ponytail one stands in front of Youngjae protectively, settling her hands on her hips and says “Of course you’re not afraid. You’re StrawberryMillk_JB, you get away with shits all the time. But I bet JB wouldn't be too happy to hear about your behavior today, would he?”

Oh, Youngjae thinks amidst his hysteria. She’s the famous fansite master of JB. Youngjae knows of her, he’s an avid follower of her fansite.

StrawberryMilk_JB glares back but says nothing before she turns her back arrogantly and walks away. The short hair girl besides Youngjae bellows “That’s right! Crawl back to whatever hole you came from you saesang bitch!” and promptly get pinched by the ponytail one.

“Hey, you okay there cyj?” the curly hair one asks and Youngjae nods shakily as they lead him outside. The four of them just sit around by the bushes, with Youngjae shaking slightly and hugging his bag tight. The girls take turns asking if he’s okay and apologizing over and over for the bad fans’ behavior. Youngjae feels a lot more overwhelmed than comforted but he appreciates the gesture.

They go on like this for a while until Youngjae says “I’m okay. I-I have a friend to pick me up and I can call him. So, it’s okay, thank you.”

The ponytail nods thoughtfully and suggests “Okay, call him. We’ll stay with you until your friend’s here to pick you up. How does that sound hm?”

Youngjae finds himself nodding along to her soft suggestion and pressing Bambam’s numbers with shaky fingers.

And that’s how Bambam finds him; shaking in the evening air and surrounded by three girls who fuss over him endlessly. The younger male is out of breath by the time he gets to Youngjae, having run across the yard to get to him. He gives Youngjae a tight hug and a back rub before thanking and shaking the girls’ hands one by one. Youngjae thinks he sees Bambam exchanging contact detail with them but he’s not sure. He’s simply too overwhelmed to process anything.

-

By the time Youngjae is out of his daze, he finds himself bleary with sleep and being cocooned in multiple blankets. He feels arms encircling his waist and holding him tight; and when Youngjae turns his head around he sees Jackson behind him, looking half asleep. Youngjae spies at the window and sees the moon high in the sky and promptly hates himself for taking Jackson away from his work. For causing troubles for him. For Mark.

He chokes on his breathe and hears Jackson steering awake so he bites his lips and tries not to cry. He fails. And then Jackson is shushing him and pushing the both of them up into a sitting position. He pushes Youngjae’s bang out of his face and cups his cheeks, resting their forehead together like the old times as he mumbles “Youngjae-ah, it’s okay. Shh. Shh. Hyung, is here. Bambam’s here. Mark is here. We’re all here for you baby Jae.”

Youngjae chokes again, this time there are tears leaking out of his eyes and he hugs Jackson tightly. He cries out “I’m sorry hyungie. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

He mumbles it again and again and again until he blacks out from the crying.

-

The next time he wakes up, Youngjae is alone in his bed and he panic a bit. Then he hears voices outside his door so he moves to get out of his room.

“-fucking sue them!” Youngjae hears Jackson cursing in English as he starts to open his door. He pauses and tries to listen discreetly, he knows they’re talking about him.

“Jack, you know you can’t do shit.” Mark chides, voice thick and accented in his native English.

“Fuck! We have to do something, have you seen how shak-”

“Shush.” Bambam cuts through sharply. There’s silence between them before Youngjae hear someone walks toward the door. Youngjae swallows as he hears Bambam voice close to him “Hyung, come out.”

He leaves his room completely to see Bambam standing before him with a soothing smile. Youngjae tries to smile back but find it difficult to do so. So, he just hangs his head. Bambam snakes an arm around his waist and guides him to the kitchen counter where there’s some food laid out. Bambam puts a spoon in his hand and makes him eat as the three of them gather around the counter, standing awkwardly.

“You doing okay, baby otter?” Jackson asks after a while and Mark hisses at him.

Youngjae puts on the brightest smile he can muster and says in a tone he hopes to be reassuring “It’s okay hyungie!”

Mark rubs his back “Bammie told us what happened Jae-ah… You sure you’re doing okay?”

Youngjae nods and he sees Jackson reaching out to swat at Mark’s arm for asking the same question, just with different wordings. He hears Jackson cursing at Mark, only to be scolded by Bambam.

“Well, I’m not okay 100% but I’m doing better than this evening I think. And that’s definitely better right?” Youngjae suddenly confesses. Jackson drapes a hand over his shoulder as Mark pats his head softly.

“Do you want us to stay over?” Mark suggests and Youngjae immediately shakes his head.

“No, it’s okay hyung. I’ve already kept you both from your rest and your work. I don’t want to bother you more than this.”

Someone sighs, it sounds like Bambam but Youngjae can’t tell because he’s too busy looking down at his food and trying not to sob. Then someone turns him around and he’s facing the three of them.

“Jae-ah,” Jackson starts “You’re our best friend, our brother. You’ll never be a burden to us, understand?”

Youngjae nods shakily and Bambam, who’s on his right, pulls him into a hug and pats his hair lightly. He coos “Oh hyungie.” Before telling Youngjae to finish his dinner.

Youngjae doesn’t get much eating done to be honest, but there’re plenty of hugs going around for the three of them. And soon it’s already past twelve and Jackson really really need to get back to close up shop and Mark really need to sleep because he has to open up the café tomorrow morning. So they leave with stern instructions for Bambam to take really really good care of Youngjae or _else_.

Bambam rolls his eyes and says “You know I can take better care of hyung than you both. Now fuck off.” Before slamming the door shut rudely into their faces. Youngjae can hear Jackson cursing Bambam on the other side of the door. Youngjae finds himself giggling softly at how silly they are.

Bambam turns to look at him snuggling on the couch and throws himself beside Youngjae. He rests his cheeks on the pillow and asks “So, wanna talk about it or wanna go to sleep? Or maybe game a bit?”

Youngjae smiles and mumbles “Nah, no gaming tonight.” Then he starts to crawl over to Bambam. The younger flips over to lie on his back so Youngjae can snuggle on his chest.

The two of them are silent for a long while, just cuddling and breathing until Bambam’s fingers start to card through his hair. Youngjae finds himself staring to talk to Bambam about what happened that afternoon with the harassing fans.

Bambam hums into his ear and doesn’t stop playing with his hair.

Youngjae is so incredibly grateful to have such an amazing brother.

-

-

Jinyoung is staring at him. _Judgmentally_.

Jaebum can feel the laser sharpness of Jinyoung’s eyes burning off his face as he immerses himself with his phone. Now and then, Jinyoung will remember that he has to sort through the fans’ gifts and he’ll get back to sorting them out. But he's back to staring at Jaebum again in the next second, his gaze knowing and judgemental.

Jinyoung’s been staring at him ever since they left the fansign, staring throughout the entire car ride, staring through the entire fucking dinner, and that interval when Jaebum leaves the bathroom so Jinyoung can go in to take his shower, Jinyoung stares at him again. His eyes narrow at Jaebumn judgmentally like he knows what is up.

It fucking ridiculous, honestly, Jaebum didn’t fucking do anything to warrant this much staring to be honest.

Okay, maybe he does know why Jinyoung is staring at him and judging him so much.

Jaebum’s been too preoccupied with his phone the entire day, scrolling through his social media account mindlessly.

Okay.

He lies.

He’s scrolling through Baby Otter’s IG account. Or maybe Jaebum should call him cyj_ars now??

Basically, Jaebum’s going through his photos and watching every single one of his cover videos religiously. And also, uhm, going into the tag section of his account so he can go through the tagged photos and vids of Baby Otter.

He’s acting like an absolute stalker. Except Jaebum is _not_ a stalker. Definitely not. Baby Otter is just very very talented and Jaebum is always appreciative of talented people.

It does NOT have anything to do with Baby Otter being too cute and too pretty with that adorable smile of his. Nope. Definitely not.

“Jaebum-hyung!” Jinyoung’s reprimanding tone snaps him out of his reverie to see the younger male sitting beside him and having a direct line of sight to his phone. Jaebum hastily thumbs at the power button of his phone to turn the screen off. Jaebum hastily puts away the device when he sees Jinyoung reaching over. Jinyoung pouts and directs a judgemental stare at him, again. God, this kid and his infinite supply of judgement.

“He just has a really nice voice okay!” Jaebum quickly defenses himself. Jinyoung smirks at him knowingly, his eyebrows wiggling with playfulness and Jaebum feels himself colors in embarrassment. Jinyoung comments offhandedly “He also happens to be very pretty and has an absolutely adorable smile.”

Jaebum waits for Jinyoung to continue, because he knows Jinyoung and that isn’t the end of it. And true to his nature, Jinyoung sighs softly at him and hugs a pillow to his chest before finishing Jaebum off “Definitely hyung’s type.”

Jaebum groans and throws a pillow into his face before he storms off toward his bedroom. Jinyoung’s laughter follows him inside and Jaebum can hear Jinyoung’s muffled shouting “Try not to jerk off to him okay hyungie?”

Jaebum groans with despair and pulls on his hair in frustration.

God.

Why is he still friends with Jinyoung again?

-

Also, just to be clear, Jaebum DOES NOT jerk off to Baby Otter.

-

He just clicks on the _follow back_ button on Baby Otter's instagram account.

-

Oops.

-

But not really.

-

Jinyoung kicks his door down at ass o’clock in the morning and shakes him awake as he screams into Jaebum’s face “Oh my god you follow him on Instagram. Hyung the first thing you did after ages away from social media, is following Baby Otter."

Jaebum blinks rapidly as he regains consciousness and tries to remember what the fuck he did last night to warrant such a violent waking up from Jinyoung.

Oh.

Right.

Jaebum looks at Jinyoung owlishly and and puts on a sheepish smile. He mumbles, voice thick with sleep, "Technically, he's cyj-ars."

The younger rolls his eyes at Jaebum like he's a lost cause before pushing him back down. Jinyoung pulls the blanket over him and pats his chest soothingly as if to put him back to sleep. The younger replies "Baby Otter, cyj_ars, Youngjae, whatever; same different."

Jaebum sighs as his head rolls to the side, trying to stay awake as he mumbles something incoherently. Before sleep reclaims him, Jaebum can see Jinyoung’s brows furrow and he thinks he hears Jinyoung rambles worriedly "Fucking hell hyung, the fans are gonna go batshit crazy over this.”

And Jaebum wonders why Jinyoung’s suddenly so worried.

-

-

Youngjae wakes up the next morning with Bambam plastered to his back and feeling a lot better. He sighs contently, appreciating the gesture despite the hotness in the air, and snuggles into Bambam’s warmth, enjoying the comfort from the younger. Bambam kisses his hair softly and asks "Finally awake hyungie?"

Youngjae nods lazily and Bambam pulls the both of them up into a sitting position. Youngjae whines, wanting to lay down for the rest of the day.

“Come on hyung, it's nearly 9 already. Let’s get washed up and go have breakfast. Mark-hyung’s expecting both of us at the café.” Bambam says fondly and pushes the both of them onto their feet. He drags Youngjae to his bedroom and says strictly "Get clean and wear something nice yeah?"

Youngjae sways on his feet and whines lowly at the back of his throat. Bambam brings up his forefinger and flicks his nose. Youngjae yelps out an earsplitting "Bammie!" and Bambam laughs at how adorably red Youngjae becomes.

"I'll come get you after I'm ready, and if I find you sleeping, I will drag you around town in your pajamas and your bedhead. You know I will." Bambam reprimands playfully and Youngjae scratches his head sheepishly before sulkily walks toward his bathroom.

True to his words, Bambam kicks his door open as soon as he's done getting ready. Youngjae looks up from clasping his watch around his wrist to see Bambam dressed fabulously in a silky dress shirt and a pair of skin tight jeans. He wonders if Bambam is gonna take him out for a shooting for his blog and looks down to frown at his plain white shirt and ripped blue jeans.

Bambam clicks his tongue at him and grabs his wrist. The younger helps Youngjae fastens the watch and tells him quietly "You're absolutely gorgeous the way you are, hyungie. Don't just think about negative stuff."

"Uhm" Youngjae hums absentmindedly and reaches out for his bag and phone as Bambam drags him out of the apartment.

-

Mark greets them both with a soft smile as they take a seat at the counter. He sets down a cup of hot chocolate for Youngjae as he asks “Got a good night sleep last night Jae-ah?”

Youngjae hums as he takes a sip of his drink. Bambam side eyes him as he fumbles with his phone. The younger tells Mark dramatically “You should be worried about me instead! Youngjae-hyung basically slept on me the entire night and nearly smothered me to death!”

“Yah!” Youngjae exclaims at the exaggeration as Mark laughs from his place behind the counter. Youngjae reaches out to swat Bambam in retaliation and the younger just huffs and pouts adorably, his attention never leaving his phone.

Mark ruffles his hair gently and smiles at him again “Well I’m just glad you’re feeling better Jae-ah.”

Youngjae beams back at him adorably and informs enthusiastically “Bammie helped a lot last night, so I’m doing a lot better.”

The older plants his hands on his hips and puts on a pout. He exclaims in mock-hurt “Are you saying Jackson and I weren’t much help?”

Youngjae grabs his arm and shakes it playfully. He singsongs “Hyungie~ You know that’s not what I meant~”

Mark bursts out laughing. He’s about to say something in return but Bambam’s overly exaggerated inhale catches both of their attention. So instead, Mark turns to a wide-eye Bambam with concern “You alright Bam?”

Bambam shifts his gaze from his phone to Youngjae, then to Mark, then back to the phone. Then he hands his phone over to Mark and the older looks at it for awhile before his eyes turn wide as well.

Youngjae, being curious as he is, tries to lean over the counter to take a peek. Mark leans back, pressing the screen of the phone against his chest protectively, and Youngjae grumbles adorably. The older tells him “Youngjae, check your Instagram.” As he dazedly returns the device to Bambam.

The younger fumbles around with his phone a bit before mounting it up as if to take a picture. Youngjae frowns as he takes out his phone from his pocket and realizes that Bambam is still holding up his phone. He asks “Yah, why are you filming me?”

“Just check your IG hyung.”

“Instagram now, Jae-ah.”

Bambam and Mark replies in unison and Youngjae narrows his eyes at them in suspicion. He still does like what he’s told though and opens the app to see an overload of notifications. God, why is he getting so many notifications today? Also, why is he tagged in so many photos and videos? Also, what's with the influx of new followers? Basically, just what the hell happened when he was asleep?

Getting annoyed at all the notifications, Youngjae looks up and asks "Am I supposed to see something?"

Bambam nods while Mark leans over. The older instructs “Jae, go to pictures you’re tagged in.”

Youngjae hums and fumbles around to get to that tab and clicks on one of the pictures he’s tagged in.

And pause.

And blinks.

Once, twice, three times before he looks up confused and cocking his head to the side. He sees Bambam and Mark beaming at him so he swallows before squeaking out dazedly “Uhm?”

Bambam shakes his head overly enthusiastically, like he knows what Youngjae is talking about, and Youngjae quickly clicks around on his phone to get back to the notification tab. He scrolls and scrolls and scrolls until he gets to that one notification he’s looking for.

_JJP_DefSoul is now following you_

“Oh my god.” Youngjae finds himself whispering and his hands comes up to cover his mouth.

He stares at the screen some more, feeling the telltale sign of a blush dusting his cheeks, and mumbles “He followed me back.”

And then with a final happy squeak of “JB followed me back!” Youngjae’s hands creeps up to cover his heated face. And then he's leaning his head sideway on the marble counter and squeals happily into his hands as he bounes his legs in excitement.

This time, Youngjae hears the sound of laughter coming from Mark and Bambam. He feels so happy he could cry.

-

Youngjae finds out later on that Bambam was actually taking a live video of him on Instagram. And then the younger saves it and starts to cut the video into parts to upload onto his account. All Youngjae can do is pout halfheartedly and shoves his breakfast into his mouth. Honestly, he’s too happy to feel anything other than happiness. So he just sits and eats and looks at Mark and Bambam coo at the phone’s screen like children.

“Aww, look at how pretty you blush hyung!” Bambam exclaims and shoves the phone into his face. Youngjae leans away from the device with a pout and turns his head away as if displeased. Mark just laughs happily at both of their antics and does nothing to discourage Bambam from uploading the video. The traitor, Youngjae thinks and stabs at the sausage in mock-anger. But he does forgive Mark, because like he said, he’s too happy to feel anything other than happiness right now.

“Done!” Bambam chimes happily and Youngjae’s phone screen flashes with a notification from Bambam. He quickly looks at the content and feels his face heats up instantly.

_[7 short videos of Youngjae’s reaction]_

_In which @cyj_ars finds out that his celebrity crush follows him back on IG. Isn't he the cutest thing ever? Also, kudos to @JJP_DefSoul for making him the happiest person alive. *3 smirk emojis*_

_*a long list of hashtags*_

“Bambam!” Youngjae practically screams and Bambam smirks at him as he slurps up his spaghetti obnoxiously. Mark is now a pile of uncontrolled laughter on the counter.

Ugh, such terrible friends he has.

Youngjae bets Jackson will treat him better than these two bullies.

-

Jackson doesn't, in fact, treat him any better than Mark and Bambam.

As soon as Jackson shows his face at the café, Mark signals him to come out to the front. Jackson follows his hand gesture out as he ties the black apron around his waist.

"Wassup?" He asks, dusting his thighs to get rid of nonexistent dust and reaches out to play with Youngjae's hair.

Bambam hands Jackson his phone wordlessly and a few seconds later Youngjae can hear the static noise from the video. Jackson's silence for a long while and Youngjae thinks: only Jackson-hyung is good to me. Those two are just pure evil. Then Youngjae hear Jackson laughs his hyena laugh and now that all three of his friends are meanies.

Jackson ends up laughing so much he has to clutch onto the counter to keep on standing. Youngjae dramatically drops his head onto the marble counter and sighs loudly.

"So creepy, Jae-ah!" Jackson exclaims in between his wheezing and Youngjae groans. The older continues "Well at least you were cute, so it's probably okay."

"I hate all of you so much." Youngjae laments in defeat after a few seconds of unrelent laughter from his friends. Jackson and Bambam rolls their eyes at him as they laugh, their tone is high-pitched and happy and Youngae finds himself laughing along with them.

Mark reaches out to play with the visible side of his cheek and says fondly "No you don't."

Youngjae smiles at him, sweet and genuine, and confirms "No I don't."

-

-

The both of them has schedule with Yugyeom’s radio show tonight. And Jaebum yawns tiredly as he and Jinyoung pile into the waiting room.

Yugyeom greets them excitedly, his mouth draws open with laughter and his voice high-pitched and happy. Usual Yugyeomie, Jaebum thinks and pulls Yugyeom into a half-hug. Then he plants himself onto the sofa and watches as Jinyoung envelopes Yugyeom into a heartfelt hug. Jinyoung’s expression soften as he reaches out to tug the radio host’s stray hair behind his ear. Yugyeom smiles back, his lips are soft this time, and the two of them converse lowly between themselves. Jaebum, feeling like he’s intruding on something intimate, turn to flip through the script laid out on the low table in front of him.

The three of them stay like that for a while, Jaebum reading and humming to himself as Jinyoung and Yugyeom lose themselves in their own world. Jaebum has always been suspicious of the two of them really. He, of course, knows of Jinyoung’s preference. It’s hard to not know when they spent nearly 10 years together already. And even if Jaebum’s that dumb, Jinyoung had sat him down and told him of preference toward men. He’d have to be really really dumb to have miss _that_. And honestly speaking, Jaebum isn’t exactly straight either so he doesn’t have any against Jinyoung being with guys. The thing he has a problem with when it comes to the two of them is that they’re clearly into each other but they’re not doing anything. It frustrates Jaebum so much he’s tempted more than once to just lock them in a dark closet somewhere and let the suffocating sexual tension works miracle on them.

But before Jaebum can spend anymore time plotting out unsuccessful attempt #286, the coordi noonas call them into the recording room. This time round, it’s Jaebum who stares judgmentally at Jinyoung. The younger glares at him from his seat across the table and Jaebum barks out a laughter.

Ah, revenge truly is sweet.

-

After the album’s promotion, after the singing, after the games, after the commercial break; it’s time for random questions from the fans.

Honestly, Jaebum is super scared of this section whenever he comes on Yugyeom’s radio show. That’s because JJ Project’s fans are _wild_ and Yugyeom and his team don’t help much because they usually pick the wildest and craziest questions ever. Jinyoung though absolutely love this particular section of the show and it’s one of the reason why he insists on coming on Yugyeom’s show. He finds the wild side of their fans amusing and in return he teases them back just as much.

And this time, Yugyeom starts the section with a holler of Jaebum’s name and Jaebum finds that his palms are already sweating. He leans down toward the mic and hums. Yugyeom raises a fine brow at him and asks “So, JB-stans flooded our server today with a particularly juicy new.”

Jaebum gulps and his eyes flicks toward Jinyoung as a sign of help. The younger nonchalantly plays with the chord of his headset. Jaebum has to make an effort to stop himself from putting on a meme face in reaction to Jinyoung’s butthurt-ness.

He remains silent, and inclines his head at Yugyeom to urge him to finish. The radio host continues “They told us you followed a fan on Instagram~”

Jaebum sighs “Oh, yeah”

Jinyoung butts in with a playful smirk before he can continue “Hyung’s been absolutely obsessed with this fan~”

Jaebum glares at him and promises the young with sweet sweet death in the curve of his lips quirking upward into a strained smile. Jinyoung puts on his fake angel smile as he continues “This fan is very talented when it comes to singing so Jaebum-hyung basically stalked his account and watched _all_ of his covers of our songs.”

Jaebum is going to _kill_ him. They live together, he can make it look like an accident.

“Oh ho~” Yugyeom wiggles his eyebrows suggestively at Jaebum. “Then it seems that this request is kinda invalid.”

“What request?”

“Well, since you’ve been stalking his account like a creepy stalker,” Yugyeom teases and Jaebum smacks him on the arm “then you’d have already seen his reaction to you following him back.”

“What reaction?” Jaebum asks, while Jinyoung demands at the same time. He’s way too excited for this, Jaebum thinks and prepares himself for the teasing.

“Oh my god, you haven’t seen it?” Yugyeom exclaims excitedly “Then you absolutely have to watch! His reaction is absolutely adorable!”

Yugyeom finishes with a giggle and Jaebum is definitely intrigue. He gestures for the noonas to pass him any device to show the video and Jinyoung migrates to Jaebum’s part of the table to have a look as well.

A short while later, Yugyeom hands him a tablet and says "Noona, you better film hyung's reaction!"

Instagram application is open on the tablet and cyj_ars’ face is on display under the silver _play_ sign. Jaebum inhales sharply and press play.

He can feel the judgement seeping from the tip of Jinyoung's finger he has rested on his shoulders.

-

Needless to say, Jaebum spends the remaining time of the show thinking about cyj_ars and his adorable reaction and totally forget about his masterplan in orchestrating Jinyoung’s death.

And when they finish their schedule, Jaebum checks his social media and their fancafé to see floods of notifications and links to various social media accounts. He realizes they’re links to cyj_ars’ other social media accounts and apparently he has a soundcloud and a YouTube account?? And he has friends who run fashion blogs and art blogs with him as the model??

It’s information overload and Jaebum wishes he could clone himself so he can absorb all these contents all at once.

Jinyoung eyes him with judgement, _again_ , but Jaebum just ignores him for the rest of the night and enjoy some quality cyj_ars’ contents.

-

JInyoung leaves his bedroom the next morning and instantly _judges_ Jaebum.

He narrows his eyes at Jaebum’s pyjamas and bedhead but say nothing, leaving Jaebum to scroll around his phone in relative peace. Jinyoung’s pouring milk into his bowl of cereal when he asks “Have you eaten yet?”

Jaebum groans out a negative and the younger chides him “Yah hyung! Come eat.”

“In a minute!” Jaebum replies quickly, eyes still glue to his phone screen as he double clicks on the group image so he can zoom in a take a better look of cyj_ars.

“Jaebum-hyung.” Jinyoung calls out “Put down your phone for one goddamn second and come have breakfast.”

After a few second, Jaebum’s phone is confiscated out of his hands and he glares up at Jinyoung. The younger take one look at his screen and exclaims “This is fucking ridiculous!”

“Yah!” Jaebum retaliates and snatches his phone back.

“Hyung, go change.” Jinyoung finally mumbles after a moment of contemplation.

“What?”

“Go change?”

“What, why? It’s our day off today.”

“Hyung, just go change please. I’ll tell the driver to bring the car around. We’ll go out for breakfast because that way you’ll actually eat something.” Jinyoung says tiredly and Jaebum feels guilty for worrying the younger man.

He hums apologetically and touches Jinyoung’s arm to express his sentiment. The younger smile at him vaguely and Jaebum asks “Where are we going?”

“Litte Birdie Café and Eatery.” Jinyoung replies a bit too enthusiastically with a mischievous smile and Jaebum raises a brow at him, his lips tugging into a fond smile. The younger blushes and continues “The food is absolutely divine okay?”

Jaebum hums amusedly and Jinyoung rolls his eyes “You’ll love it, I promise.”

His stomach grumbling at the thought of good food, so Jaenum smiles and tells Jinyoung “Can’t wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and yes, Jaebum just fall for a trap set by actor!Jinyoung muah hahahaha
> 
> QUESTIONS:  
> 1\. Do u guys want long chapters like Chapter 1 and chapter 2 or do u guys prefer shorter chapters that have around 1k-2k words? Of course the timeframe for updating shorter chapters will also decrease, but I gotta warn you guys that I'm pretty busy since I'm in my last year of architecture school so sometimes I get caught up with my final project and just completely forger about everything... And I just wanna apologise in advance for the late updates. But please continue to talk to me and remind me to update or else I'm just gonna catch up on my sleep forever ehehehehe.  
> 2\. Before I get into the 2nd question, just let me express how Got7 gives me so much inspirations when it comes to writing fic. Like I've never want to write this many fics for a fandom, it's mindboogling for me because I'm not a particularly good writer and I suck at writing with a linear timeline and suck even more when it comes to updating... But like Got7 makes me want to write SO MUCH. And ugh I kinda have like 3-4 new fic ideas I wanna explore???? Please don't hate me *cries*  
> First is canon-compliant Sentinel and Guide AU where JB just awakened his Sentinel side and accidentally bonded with YJ who is a Guide in hiding.  
> Second is canon-compliant Soulmate AU in which JY kinda knows that he and JB are soulmates but JB doesn't. JB falls in love with a Blank!YJ and then later finds out that JY is his soulmate.  
> The third idea is Little!YJ and Caretaker!Got6. With smut and fluff of course ehehehe.  
> So which one do u guys like better? Can u guys, like, choose? Because I'm probably gonna write everything if no one's stopping me and I'm gonna hate myself for starting too many projects and hating myself more for leaving you guys hanging *cries*
> 
> also, half moon will get an update soon, hopefully *apologetic bow*
> 
> as always, plEASE VALIDATE ME WITH COMMENTS AND KUDOS AND SCREAM AT ME ABOUT GOT7


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for the long wait, but I'm also so so thankful to all of you who are so patient and understanding with me <3  
> Thank you, thank you, thank you.  
> Hopefully, I won't disappoint you guys.

It’s a slow day at the café and Youngjae finds himself dozing off now and then, barely managing to keep his eyes open to greet the customers properly.

To be honest though, he doesn’t have anyone to blame but himself when it comes to this. Okay, maybe he can probably blame Bambam too because the younger showed him a few fancams of him, him, Choi Youngjae, at the fansign singing with JJ Project. And one video, one post led to another and the next thing they know Bambam created a new choreo for the new JJP’s song and they were dancing around the apartment until 3 in the morning.

Suddenly Youngjae remembers that he still hasn’t open the album he took to the fansign yet. It’s probably still inside the bag from the other day.

Also, he hasn’t return Mark’s camera yet. With that in mind, Youngjae sleepily pushes off the counter and walks toward the door to the back. He pokes his head through the door and calls out “Mark-hyung!” just in time for the bell at the entrance to chime.

Youngjae manages to hear a faint answering sound from Mark. He tells Mark to come up front before he rushes back toward the counter, nearly tripping on his feet in the process. Youngjae manages to be presentable and catches a glimpse of a pair of extremely well-dressed man walking in. And kinda weirdly dressed too, judging from the hats and the scarfs and the face masks...

Youngjae cocks his head to the side and tries to feel the air. It isn’t that cold yet. Why are they dressed like that?

Youngjae puts on the brightest smile he could muster as he watches the two of them struggle between themselves. And instead of allowing one of their waiters to lead them to a table, the two of them tug each other back and forth toward Youngjae. The tall one is very reluctant and drags his feet while the shorter one laughs and hauls him toward the counter by his forearm. The sound of his laughter seems familiar, Youngjae thinks and turns to look at Mark questioningly for no reason at all. The older shrugs and goes to help Mina with the coffee machine.

“Hi!” The shorter man greets him cheerfully, his voice also seems oddly familiar Youngjae thinks. The taller one turns his to the right and avoids Youngjae’s eyes at all cost. Youngjae feels like the tall one is also awfully familiar, the slant of his cat like eyes making Youngjae questioning his ability to remember people’s face; well partial face. He thinks he can see moles above his eye but the hat is casting too much shadow so he can’t be sure. The both of them are awfully familiar if Youngjae’s being honest with himself. Proably one of the regulars in the shop, he thinks. But their customers are never this peculiar, he reasons with himself and replies just as cheerfully “Hi! What can I get you both?”

“Oh,” the shorter male mumbles like he doesn’t know what to order. He looks around a bit and finally admits defeat “Uhm, I’m not entirely sure what to have for breakfast?”

“Well, you could try today’s special.” Youngjae suggests, his hands rummaging around to look for the special menu. Mark comes around to hand the special menu over from his position by the coffee machine but the shorter rejects it and says “Let it be a surprise.”

Youngjae can hear the smile in his voice and he can see that the other’s eyes crinkle delightfully at the corner. He narrows his eyes at the other and blurts out “Have we met?”

The shorter burst out laughing, his laughter so so familiar Youngjae is frustrated. He’s so tempted to stomp his feet and asks who they are. The taller one sputters and get elbowed in the stomach by the shorter one. Quickly, Youngjae apologizes and feels himself heating up with embarrassment. He hears Mark chuckling from his side and shoots the older male a glare.

“It’s alright,” the shorter reassures him and nudges the taller male by his side “hyung, what do you want?”

“Same as you, Jinyoung-ah.” He answers, his focus more on his friend than Youngjae. His voice is deep, familiar; and when he turns to look at Youngjae, Youngjae finds himself turning into jelly.

Youngjae is right, there are two moles above his eyes.

And the feline shape of his eyes is as attractive as ever.

And the way he called the one with the familiar laugh ‘Jinyoung-ah’.

Oh god, how can Youngjae not realize?

Youngjae panics, his eyes go wide and he squeaks out “Oh my god!” before he drops down and cowers under the counter. He hears Jinyoung’s familiar laughter ringing above him and catches Mark’s questioning look. Youngjae gestures wildly but Mark still doesn’t get it so he decides to squeaks out “JJ Project!”

He hears Jinyoung laughs again, this time it is loud and teasing. Mark rolls his eyes at him and chuckles softly. The older ruffles his hair lightly as he handles the account. The cashier dings and Youngjae hears a small ruckus and playful growls of ‘Jinyoung!’ and ‘Hyung!’ before he hears the scrapping of chairs against the floor.

“Get up Jae-ah. Cashiers don't man themselves.” Mark looks down and tells him with a playful smile and one last hair ruffling, so Youngjae grumbles adorably at him and gets up.

And see JJ Project sitting at the counter seat, looking at him. Jinyoung with amusement and Jaebum with something else entirely that Youngjae can’t put a name on. He immediately ducks back down and mouths curse words at Mark. The older laughs at his expense and goes back to helping Mina.

And then Jinyoung is leaning over the counter and hanging his head over the counter to look at Youngjae. His face mask is off, but that ridiculous hat of his is still on.

Jinyoung says with a sweet smile “Hi!”

Youngjae squeaks and Jinyoung laughs. He asks “Come out and talk to us?”

Youngjae can feels himself colors even brighter than before. Jinyoung pouts and leans down further. Youngjae’s pretty sure he’s halfway over the counter already. How the hell is his hat still on? Also, he’s not supposed to do that. But then Jinyoung asks him super nicely “Please?”

Youngjae gulps and squeaks out “Okay.”

All this squeaking can’t be good for his vocal cord, he thinks and tries to calm himself as he pushes up up onto his feet. Jinyoung sticks out his hand Youngjae takes the offered limb shakily, feeling overwhelmed.

And he squeaks again when he stands up to see Jaebum staring at him intently. His chocolate eyes feel like they’re unraveling Youngjae layer by layer, piece by piecd, and savoring every taste. Like he’s stripping Youngjae of his defense. Of himself. Like he's going to replace all of Youngjae with himself.

Jinyoung swats Jaebum’s arm and reprimands him “Hyung, stop it. You’re scaring him.”

And then he turns to Youngjae with a conspiring look “I’m sorry about him Youngjae-sshi, he’s actually a big fan of yours. He basically stalked your soci-”

And then Jaebum’s tugging him halfway off of his chair with a huff. Youngjae giggles at both of their childishness. It’s great to see that your idols are actually just as silly as you are.

Speaking of idols, he just realizes that Jinyoung calls him by his name.

Youngjae feels like screaming.

Instead, he says as normally as possible “You remember my name.”

“Of course! It’s a beautiful name for a beautiful face!” Jinyoung exclaims happily “And Jaebum thinks so too! He’s absolutely obse-”

Jaebum hits him this time and turns to look at Youngjae. His face is dusted with pink as he tells Youngjae “Please don’t listen to him.”

Jinyoung rubs the pain on his arm away as he rolls his eyes exasperatedly at Jaebum and Youngjae giggles. He can see Jaebum looking at him again. There’s this thing to Jaebum’s gaze that gets him hot all over.

Jinyoung’s about to say something again but Mark calls for him from his side of the counter “Jae-ah, drinks!”

Youngjae pulls away to get the orders, and when he comes back he sees the two of them with their head bent toward each other and discussing something serious.

After that, he tries to keep his distance to allow them some privacy and not seem too eager to see them in real life once again. But Jinyoung beckons him over now and then with a gentle smile and hand waving. They two of them talk a lot while Jaebum watches. His cat like eyes are intense and they follow Youngjae’s every gesture. The stare makes Youngjae heats up and fumbles with himself.

It makes him shy.

It makes him thinks of inappropriate things.

It makes him _wants_

and Youngjae is scared;

because the last time Youngjae wanted someone,

it ended up ruining what was left of his life.

-

-

"You said I'll love it here!" Jaebum hisses at Jinyoung with accusations lacing his tone. Jinyoung rolls his eyes slowly at Jaebum and takes a big bite of his brucnh. He moans inappropriately, attracting Youngjae's attention from the customer's he's attending to. He catches Jaebum's eyes and quickly turn back, ears pink and white pearly teeth chewing his kissable lip shyly.

Jaebum finds himself heating up and shifts in his seat awkwardly. He clears his throat and blindly reaches out to grab onto his fork. Jaebum hears Jinyoung chuckling so he turns his attention to his partner. The younger man smirks obnoxiously and says "You are~ You're loving this so much, you're practically fucking him with your eyes!"

"Yah!" Jaebum half-shouts at him and grips onto his arm tightly. Immediately, Youngjae is in front of them with a question "Is everything alright?"

His eyes are filled with concern and Jaebum feels unexpectedly guilty for making him worries over nothing. So, he answers "It's, uhm, Jinyoung was just being silly..."

Jinyoung instantly counters with an exasperated huff "You're the silly one here hyung."

Jaebum glowers at him and he can hear Youngjae giggling. He subtly glances over to see a sight of a lifetime: eyes squint shut and head thrown back to reveal flawless column of skin and kissable Adam apple bobbing along to the sound of melodious laughter. Honestly, Jaebum has never seen anyone this adorable and perfect in his entire life. (Except for his mom of course.)

Jinyoung clears his throat and Jaebum sees the younger smirking knowingly as his eyebrows wiggle coyly.

"Is the food not to your liking Jaebum-sshi?" Youngjae asks and Jaebum chokes. Jinyoung snorts from his side and Jaebum can feel his judgement crawling up his spine. He sputters around, fumbling with his words "I, no. Uhm?" And then he shoves a mouthful of pasta and cream into his mouth. And chokes.

Jinyoung hands him his water while Youngjae hastily pushes a wade of tissue into his clenched fist. He smiles at Jaebum and says "Please be careful."

Jaebum gulps down the water quickly and rushes to say "Thank you." before Youngjae pulls away completely and turns back to his work.

Jinyoung, who's been rubbing his back soothingly, says with sarcasm "Smooth hyung."

Will Jinyoung ever let him live?

-

They spend the entire morning at the counter seat, and thank god for small mercy that the café is relatively quiet or else they’re probably be spending the entire time signing shirts and taking selfie. And Jinyoung probably wouldn’t be able to annoy Youngjae into talking to them. And Jaebum wouldn’t have the time of the world just to admire him.

Youngjae is an extremely attractive person, Jaebum will gladly admit that. He’s seen more beautiful people of course, dated people who are even more beautiful but honestly none of them can compare to how charming, how kind the man in front of his is.

And that's the thing: Jaebum thought Youngjae's just another pretty face with a cute smile. But he isn't. He’s beautiful and his charm and kindness only amplifies that beauty. His eyes narrow beautifully when he laughs at Jinyoung's lame corny jokes and smiles shyly when he catches Jaebum staring at him for too long. And there’s something in the lilt of his voice and the curves of his mouth and the glint of his bright eyes that make Jaebum wants to look at him for the rest of his life.

He makes Jaebum wants and that’s a dangerous territory Jaebum is treading. Because Youngjae is a fan. An attractive fan, yes. But a male fan. And no matter how kind, how understanding JJHeart is; Korea is not. And it isn’t just Jaebum. It’s Jaebum and Jinyoung: it’s JJ Project. It’s JYP and JJCrew and JJHeart.

And if Youngjae is to return this, this unnamed thing Jaebum has burning at the pit of his stomach; then it’s Youngjae as well.

Jaebum is not a selfish man. He can’t be. He isn’t just himself anymore; he has Jinyoung to think about, he has his agency to think about, his mom, his dad. And his actions have consequences, not just on himself but on all of them.

Jaebum is very aware of this; and yet he can't help but be selfish. Just this once, he tells himself, and looks, and admires, and wonders what the future would be like.

-

And no, Jinyoung will not let him live. He takes one look at Jaebum’s face as the café starts to get crowded and has a mischievous smile on his face. The kind of smile that got Jaebum squirming in his seat for 3+ hours in a café as he ogles Youngjae. Jaebum’s ready to tell him off and drags him out of the café when Jinyoung’s already tugging on Youngjae’s sleeve and asking “Will you have lunch with us?”

All the scolding Jaebum has inside his head flies out the window and a small vicious part of him applauds Jinyoung for his courage. Unfortunately, Youngjae blushes and shakes his head “I’m sorry. I can’t.”

“Oh.” Jinyoung pouts, disappointed and Jaebum tries not to show his own disappointment too much. Youngjae immediately waves his hands around hastily and says “No, no! That’s not what I meant! It’d be an honor to have lunch with you both but I have to get to my other work!”

“Eh?” Jinyoung brightens up as he fumbles with his phone a bit. He suggests brightly “Then come to dinner with us!”

What?

Jaebum stares at him. More like glare at him. They can’t do dinner tonight. Jinyoung has an audition for some brand-new drama. Did he forget about that?

Jaebum narrows his eyes, and tries to convey all that to the younger man. Jinyoung however, just ignores him happily and taps away with his phone. A few seconds later, he shoves the device into a very flustered Youngjae’s face and exclaims with a bit too much cheer “I already made a reservation at 7, look!”

Jaebum’s eyes widen in shock and Jinyoung smirks at him, his brow wiggling cutely. The little shit. Jaebum’s about to really tell him off when Youngjae perks up and replies just as cutely “Oh, okay.”

Oh.

Okay.

Jaebum never knew two simple words can get his heart beating this fast.

-

After they both get back to the apartment and endure a short and half-hearted scold from their managers, Jaebum asks “Why did you do that?”

Jinyoung hums as he reviews his script again. Jaebum thinks it’s pointless, he’s seen Jinyoung read the thing countless time and acted out the scene just as much and he was absolutely perfect. If he doesn’t get the part, Jaebum’s gonna camp outside the director's house and fucking riot. Jaebum’s pretty sure JJHeart’s more than happy to riot with him.

“Jinyoung.” Jaebum grumbles in warning from his side of the couch. The younger sighs loudly in exasperation like he’s dealing with a child and Jaebum kicks his shin. Jinyoung puts down his materials and stares at Jaebum. They stay like that for a while until Jinyoung decides to reply “You like him.”

Jaebum feels himself heating up and sputters “He’s a guy, Jinyoung-ah.”

“I’ve set you up with guys before." Jinyoug shoots back with too much sass. "Why is he any different?”

Silence again as Jaebum turns away. What Jinyoung just said is true, he can’t deny that. He also can’t answer that question, because what makes CYJ different? CYJ makes Jaebum thinks about a future other than his own and Jinyoung's, and that scares him. So instead he frowns and chews on his lips.

Jinyoung’s the one who breaks the silence and says “Look, hyung. Just have fun. If it works out, then it works out. Don’t worry too much, everything will be alright.”

“Will it?” Jaebum finds himself asking despite himself and Jinyoung frowns at him. “What are you talking about hyung?”

“Will it really be fine Jinyoung-ah? It isn’t just me, you know. It’s you, it’s JJCrew, it’s JYP.”

It’s Youngjae, Jaebum wants to say as well but wouldn’t that be too presumptuous of him, he’s not even sure if Youngjae likes him.

Jinyoung pushes from his side of the couch and puts a comforting hand of Jaebum’s bicep. He says with that kind and serene smile of his “Hyung, we’ve been through this before. It’s either you or me who’s going to create the shit storm because our tastes aren’t exactly... conventional. And better you than me because we both know how I can get when people get on my nerve.”

Jaebum’s about to protest when Jinyoung holds up a hand and continues with a serious tone “Listen, JJHeart, concert, varieties; all these things make you happy for now hyung, but they’re not sustainable happiness. Being yourself is good. Falling in love is good. And in the end, does all those spotlights matter if you’re going to spend the rest of your life miserable and hiding who you are?”

Jaebum shakes his head timidly, Jinyoung knows best how to help him sort through his head. What would Jaebum do without him?

Jinyoung reaches out and grabs his hand. He asks “Now, what got you thinking about all these serious stuffs huh hyung?”

“I don’t know, It’s just-” Jaebum pauses, trying to explain himself. Instead, he settles with “He just makes me think.”

About the future, Jaebum doesn’t say but he’s sure that Jinyoung hears it anyways.

The soft gentle smile is back. Jinyoung rubs soothing circle into the skin of Jaebum’s hand and reassures him “Like I said, if it works out, then it works out. Don’t worry too much yeah?”

Jaebum smiles and knows that thing will be alright.

-

For now.

-

-

Bambam probably heard about the ‘dinner date with JJ Project’, as Mark dubbed it; because the younger keep giving him knowing looks and wiggling his brows playfully. Youngjae rolls his eyes at Bambam repeatedly and slaps him on the shoulder to get the younger to stop his teasing. And as soon as Youngjae is done with the class, Bambam literally drags him out of the school and toward their apartment and proceeds to fuss over Youngjae like a mother hen.

Youngjae looks at Bambam through the vanity and rolls his eyes when the younger runs his hands through Youngjae’s hair again to make it look even fluffier. Bambam hums in approval and swoons over his work. He catches Youngjae’s eyes in the mirror and says with a fond smile “You look absolutely adorable! They won’t be able to resist you hyungie!”

Youngjae rolls his eyes so hard they nearly fall out of their sockets. Bambam catches the exasperated expression and tsk at him. He chides “Believe me hyung, by the time I’m done with you, you will look more than good enough to fuck.”

“Yah!” Youngjae exclaims, cheeks burning, and smacks Bambam. The younger falls onto his knees laughing and hugs Youngjae’s middle tightly. Youngjae grabs a fistful of Bambam’s silver-blue hair and tugs “Kunpimook!”

Bambam takes his face out of Youngjae’s fluffy, white Bambam’s fan sponsored shirt and rests his chin on Youngjae’s thigh. He looks up with a cheeky smile and says “I’m joking hyung.”

Youngjae narrows his eyes and puffs out his cheeks adorably. Bambam teases “Or am I?”

The older smacks him on the shoulder with a pout and Bambam laughs, pushing onto his feet and turns toward his make-up kit. He looks back to Youngjae with a lipstick in hand and Youngjae pushes his lips out obediently.

Bambam hums nonchalantly and tugs Youngjae up to his feet after he's done. He admires the older for a few second and sprays some fruity perfume before he is satisfied. He smiles and tells Youngjae mischeviously “There, definitely more than good enough to fuck.”

Youngjae smacks him again and Bambam laughs, loud and fond, and grabs for the key to Mark’s car. He opens his bedroom door theatrically and says “This way my lord. We don’t want you being late for your date.”

Youngjae rolls his eyes fondly and lets Bambam chauffeurs him around like the secret mother hen that he is.

The car ride is stuffy and quiet, with only the occasional blinging sound whenever Bambam takes a turn. Youngjae spends his time looking out the window and playing with the frill of his shirt nervously. Bambam must’ve notice his nervousness because he reaches out a hand and pats Youngjae’s knee soothing as he asks “What’s wrong hyungie? You’re being too quiet.”

“It’s nothing Bammie.” Youngjae replies dismissively, still staring out the window stubbornly. Bambam’s hand on his knee still and he feels fingers turning his head around to face Bambam as the car come to a stop. The younger looks at him seriously and chides “What did we say about dismissing our feelings no matter how small?”

Youngjae looks down to his fingers and Bambam taps his cheek lightly as he hums. The older replies meekly “It’s not a healthy coping mechanism.”

Bambam pinches his cheek and Youngjae looks up to see the younger smiling proudly. “Good,” he praises “what do we do instead?”

“We talk about it.” Youngjae replies and Bambam practically beams as he tugs a stray strand of hair behind Youngjae’s ear. He withdraws his hand and eases the car back into driving lane.

“So, do you want to talk about it now or talk about it later?” Bambam urges and Youngjae squeaks out a reply “I just feel so nervous and silly Bam-ah”

“Being nervous is understandable.” Bambam replies “But why silly though?”

“It’s-” He pauses, trying to find the right word. Eventually he sighs in defeat and says “I’m just a fan Bambam-ah, but I have all these ideas inside my head that maybe they like me and I know that you guys tease me all the time about the crush I have on JB but I can’t help but think. I-”

Another pause, but Bambam says nothing as he waits for Youngjae to continue. “I can’t help but want, Bambamie; and it’s just so so goddamn silly and stupid.”

The younger reaches out to touch his knee soothingly again and Youngjae finally finally admits “And I’m scared Bambam-ah. I’m so scared.”

“Hyung,” Bambam begins, his voice cracking around the edge and Youngjae looks out the window again. Bambam starts again “Hyung, not all seemingly good guys will turn out to be bad.”

Youngjae frowns and Bambam continues softly “Don’t worry too much okay hyung? Just have fun, you are having dinner with your all-time favorite idol singers. Also, they probably do like you. Celebrities don’t just invite any fans to dinner you know. So just have fun and don’t worry too much about it okay?”

Youngjae nods weakly as Bambam pulls over in front of the restaurant and send him off with a cute wave.

When Youngjae steps out of the car, he’s greeted by the cold weather and a man standing rigidly by the door. However, as soon as Youngjae catches eyes with the man he feels himself heating up and shivering in anticipation rather than cold. It’s Im Jaebum; even with a bowler hat on and black mask and scarf obscuring more than half of his face, Youngjae can still tell that it’s Jaebum from those intense feline eyes that follow his movements.

Youngjae feels himself coloring when Jaebum pushes off the wall and walk toward him, Jinyoung curiously absent. He’s about to asks but Jaebum nods and him and says “It’s just us two this evening. Jinyoungie has emergency schedule.”

“Oh.” Youngjae manages to say and Jaebum continues, this time there’s a hint of shyness and uncertainty to his voice, “I hope that’s okay?”

Youngjae stutters for a bit before he manages to reply enthusiastically “I-yes, absolutely!”

Jaebum chuckles and leads him into the homie family restaurant and toward their seats. He steps into Youngjae’s personal bubble when they’re led into a private seating. He leans down impossibly close to whisper into Youngjae’s ear “It’s Yugyeomie’s family restaurant. I hope you like it.”

The fabric of Jaebum’s mask brushes against Youngjae’s helix and the younger finds it oddly sensual. He jerkily turns his head away and rubs a hand over his ear. Youngjae is certain his face is burning so he keeps his head down.

Jaebum takes a step away from him and says “I’m sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable, it wasn’t my intention.”

Youngjae looks up so fast, he nearly got whiplashed. He shakes his head and stops in his track to stare at Jaebum by their table. He quickly denies “No! It’s not like that! I’m just-”

Jaebum tilts his head to the side cutely and Youngjae looks down again. The clanking of chopsticks and glasses die down as he feels himself heating up within the restricted area of the private booth. How can he be so cute even though half of his face is hidden??

Youngjae clears his throat and looks up “I’m just- not used to strangers.”

“Oh.” Jaebum mumbles “You-don’t be shy. Please.”

Then he takes a seat and removes his hat and masks. Jaebum looks up at Youngjae in anticipation and pats the vacant place beside him. Youngjae eyes the seat for a few before sitting down rigidly. Jaebum leans into his personal space again and the smile he gives Youngjae is absolutely blinding.

Youngjae is sure he’s more than a bit in love with this man.

-

It’s really awkward and stuffy at first, the only sound accompanying them is the sizzling of meat on the pan. Youngjae sits and steals glance of Jaebum to see the older man grilling meat intensely. And Youngjae smiles softly, turning the meat and vegetable now and then as he hums his newest composition under his breath.

Suddenly, Jaebum asks “What song is that?”

Youngjae freezes, looking up to see Jaebum tilting his head to the side adorably in confusion. He clears his throat and stutters “Oh, uhm. It’s just some song…”

Jaebum looks thoughtful as he says “It sounds too beautiful to be just some song though.”

Youngjae blushes and finally admits “Uhm, it’s something I composed a few days ago.”

“Oh.” Jaebum mumbles, stunned, and the meat sizzles aggressively as it demands their attention. Youngjae deftly looks down and turn the food on the stove and silence blankets the both of them again as they pretend to be preoccupied with the meat. However, it’s Jaebum that finally cracks the silence again and tells Youngjae shyly “I checked out your music last night.”

Youngjae looks up so fast he nearly got whip-lashed and asks “What.”

“Your music. On SoundCloud and YouTube.”

Youngjae freezes up again, looking horrified, and Jaebum immediately waves his hand around. He assures the younger “Hey, hey! They’re really great.”

Youngjae blushes again and it seems that Jaebum starts to color as well. But he continues to praises “You’re a really really good. Your voice is absolutely beautiful and you have a talent for composing.”

“Gosh, no. It’s just- it’s just music.”

“It isn’t. It isn’t just music. It’s more than that. It’s-“A pause as Jaebum searches for words and Youngjae waits in anticipation, happy but shy with the shower of praises. Finally, Jaebum settles with “It’s beautiful.”

Youngjae ducks his head down and whispers “Thank you.” And when Youngjae looks up, he sees Jaebum beaming at him, and he finds himself beaming back.

-

After that, the conversation flows naturally; mostly of Jaebum asking about Youngjae. It starts with Youngjae’s music, then it goes to his jobs, and his friends and students. Youngjae finding himself smiling and laughing as he tells stories of his cunning friends and cheeky students.

It’s surprising normal to talk with Jaebum. Youngjae thought that it would be hard to please the older man and get him to smile. But it isn’t. Jaebum is such a good listener, and he seems genuinely interested in what Youngjae has to say. He nods at the right moment and inputs his own comments now and then. But mostly, he laughs and smiles and looks at Youngjae like he’s the only thing that exist.

And Youngjae gets self-conscious after a long while of talking after finishing their meal. Blushing, he says “I’m sorry, I feel like I’m doing all the talking.”

“No, no,” Jaebum quickly says “It’s alright. I like it. I like to listen to you talk.”

Youngjae blushes again. It seems like all he does tonight is blush and talks nonsense.

-

They leave the restaurant after concluding their talk and arguing over who should be paying. However, Yugyeom’s mom shakes her head and says “No need to fight boys. Jinyoungie told me to put it on his tab.”

Jaebum rolls his eyes and says “Should’ve eat some more then.”

Mrs. Kim tuts and tells him off “Such a mean boy you are Jaebum.” While Youngjae giggles. Jaebum’s lips tug into a smile as well and Mrs. Kim gives the both of them a meaningful look. She shoos them away “The night is still young, why don’t you boys go have some more fun? I heard they have a fair downtown.”

Youngjae face literally glows as he excitedly exclaims “Eh, really? Then we have to go!”

Then he remembers who he’s with. A globally famous Korean idol Im Jaebum of JJ Project. He doesn’t have the kind of freedom that Youngjae possess as a nobody, so Youngjae quickly says “Or not… We can go somewhere else if you want. Or we can separate here, Jaebum-sshi.”

Jaebum furrows his brows and blurts out “I don’t want to separate here!”

Mrs. Kim chuckles and Youngjae feels himself turns into a human tomato. Jaebum briefly turns to her before looking back at Youngjae. He clears his throat and says calmly “We can go to the fair. It’ll be fun.”

Youngjae plays with the frill of his sleeves mindlessly as the both of them head toward the exit. He mumbles “Uhm, won’t it be inconvenient for you? There will be a lot of people there, and they might recognize you.”

Jaebum looks at you quizzically as he holds the door open. He asks the younger as Youngjae steps out next to him “Why would you think that?”

Embarrassed, Youngjae quickly replies “Oh! I’m sorry, I-” He clears his throat, feeling the cold air attacking him mercilessly, and rubs his hands together to create heat. He swallows before continuing “I just assumed you wouldn’t feel very comfortable…”

Jaebum steps into his personal space as they walk in the general direction of the downtown, their shoulders knocking. He asks again “Why do you say that?”

“Just, uhm, you don’t look very comfortable at the fansign… So I just assumed you don’t like to be overwhelmed by your fans.” Youngjae stays silent for a bit before he looks up, shivering, “I’m sorry for just assuming.”

Jaebum gives him a small smile and reassures him “It’s alright. I’m just surprised you noticed.”

Youngjae feels his face heating up and knows that he must be blushing again. Jaebum shrugs off his coat and says "But it'll be alright. It's already quite late and I have a mask and a hat on, not a lot of people will notice me."

Of course people will notice him, he's Im Jaebum, one half of Korea's favorite duo, not noticing him is like being blind to the sun. Youngjae protest in his head. And Jaebum bursts out laughing, that's when Youngjae realizes he said that out loud. Way to go Choi Youngjae, Youngjae thinks, wanting the ground to swallow him up.

When his laughter dies down, Jaebum simply says "I'll be alright Youngjae-sshi." and hands over his coat. Youngjae looks at the article dumbly, making Jaebum explains “Here, you must be very cold Youngjae-sshi. You’re red all over.”

He doesn’t know how it’s possible, but Youngjae feels himself blushing even harder when Jaebum drapes the coat over his shoulders.

-

-

The fair they go to is surprisingly bland. From the gleam of Mrs. Kim's eyes, Jaebum thought that it would be a grand entertaining spot with lots of games and maybe some colorful cotton candy and fireworks. Turns out, it's just the usual buzzling downtown with a few extra stall for games, a road closed off to set up an exhibition, and an arcade that promises to stay open until 3AM. Now that Jaebum think about it closely, maybe the goeam in Mrs. Kim's eyes wasn't from how spectacle the fair is but perhaps from the prospect of Jaebum finally going out with a new face again after 3 years. He doesn't know if he should secretly curse her or cry at her in thank for her genius. Probably cry at her in thank.

Youngjae though seems frustrated. He eyes the 'fair' in disappointment as lips jut out in an adorable pout. Jaebum finds himself chuckling, drawing the younger's attention. When Youngjae looks at him, Jaebum asks from behind his mask "What's wrong Youngjae-sshi?"

Youngjae gestures vaguely at the sight in front of him "I'm really sorry for this Jaebum-sshi. I dragged you all the way across town for this."

Jaebum looks at him from under his ridiculous hat and reassures him "It's alright. The walk here was fun and I enjoyed it a lot. Besides, we could visit some stalls and see what they have on display for the exhibition."

Youngjae plays with the hem of Jaebum's coat sleeve, picking at the fabric nervously. He mumbles "If that's what you want..."

"Of course." Jaebum says too quickly. He has to bite his tongue from adding 'I'd do anything as long as I can spend more time with you.'

Youngjae beams at him. Literally beam like the goddamn sun and Jaebum feels himself melting despite the cold autumn air. The younger tells him with determination "I'll win you so many prizes you won't regret coming with me."

'I'd probably follow you to the end of the Earth and I won't ever regret it.' Jaebum wants to say, but doesn't. Instead, he laughs and follows an enthusiastic Youngjae as he tries not to draw too much attention to himself.

Adorable indeed, Jaebum thinks and lets Youngjae have his fun.

-

True to his words, Youngjae won nearly every game he plays and makes Jaebum chooses whatever he wants. But soon enough, it's already past midnight and Jaebum really needs to go because JJ Project has an early broadcast tomorrow.

"Oh, okay." Youngjae mumbles dejectedly, looking unreasonably cute. And that says' something, because Jaebum's the one carrying all the cute dolls Youngjae won for him and he still can't be as cute as Youngjae and his pout.

Jaebum offers "I can take you home."

"I-no. It's okay, you have an early schedule tomorrow, I don't want to impose."

"Please, I insist." Jaebum pleads, gesturing toward the opened door of the car.

"Well, uhm, if you're so kind as to drop me off at Little Birdie..."

"Of course." Jaebum beams and ushers Youngjae to get in.

And they spend the car ride toward the café in relative silence until the vehicle comes to a stop in front of the coffee shop. However when Youngjae moves to get out, Jaebum boldly moves to touch his wrist. He looks meaningfully into Youngjae's eyes and tells him seriously "I had a lot of fun today Youngjae-sshi. Hopefully we can meet up again and hang out?"

Youngjae's cheeks color as he replies "I- Yes, of course and, uhm, I had a lot of fun as well Jaebum-sshi."

The older smiles and asks boldly "Then can we perhaps exchange number to keep in contact somehow Youngjae-sshi?"

Youngjae giggles "If it's just my number you want, then you can just ask."

He said it in such a flirtatious manner, Jaebum finds himself flustered and blushing slightly. The younger continues "And please call me Youngjae."

Jaebum grins and test the name on his tongue once, twice; making Youngjae blushes again. The younger moves to draw out a card from his wallet and hands it to Jaebum. He accepts it and sees that it is Youngjae's business card. The other looks at him sheepishly as he mutters "I hope that is okay."

"It's more than okay." Jaebum replies with a smirk and Youngjae beams as he moves to open the door.

"I'll text you for sure Youngjae-ah." Jaebum calls out from within the car, and Youngjae blushes a beautiful shade of scarlet.

How adorable, Jaebum chuckles and holds onto the white card in his hand like it's his greatest treasure.

-

Youngjae exceeds his expectations once again.

He's such a sunny person and so easy to talk to. He smiles and laughs so freely, willingly carve out pieces of himself for Jaebum to see and tells him of his life like they're old friends. Youngjae's eyes are sad sometimes, but the shape if his lips is always kind, always gentle, and so readily to smile. And he demands nothing from Jaebum, not a smile or a laugh or his words.

Jaebum knows it's far too early to judge from their extremely fleeting encounters and this short dinner, but Jaebum feels like Youngjae's someone trustworthy.

And it doesn't help that Youngjae is absolutely adorable.

And talented.

And kind.

And charming.

And funny.

And beautiful.

And fuck, if Jaebum keeps going then he’s going to use every positive vocabulary imaginable to describe just how amazingly perfect Youngjae is. Because he is. Perfect, that is.

And Jaebum feels the tide of Youngjae's gravity pulling him in, in, in, until all he can think about is Youngjae's shy little laughter and his blushing red cheeks.

-

Jaebum goes back to their shared penthouse with a arm full of goods to see Jinyoung eating takeout by the stove. Jaebum stumbles over his feet, struggling to get his shoes off in excitement as he rushes over to his best friend. He’s giddy and lightheaded, from the excitement or from spending time with Youngjae, he isn’t sure. But there’s one thing that he is absolutely sure of.

So, he grabs Jinyoung by the shoulder enthusiastically and turns him around. Jaebum declares “He’s perfect, Jinyoung-ah, absolutely perfect.”

Jaebum’s smiling so much his cheeks hurt and his mouth is dry but he just wants to keep on smiling for the rest of his life. Jinyoung laughs at him and pulls him into a warm snuggle hug. He ruffles Jaebum’s hair before setting him down on the living room sofa. A large fond smile is on Jinyoung’s lips as he says with a hearty laugh “You are absolutely whipped hyungie.”

Jaebum’s smile turns shy as he slumps in his seat, eyes turning dreamy as he recounts how perfect the night was. All Jinyoung does is smile and laughs and pats him gently in encouragement.

He hasn’t been this happy in a long time.

-

-

Youngjae enters Little Birdie to see Bambam at the counter seat like how he predicted. The younger eyes him with an amusement and says "You weren't wearing that coat when I dropped you off."

Jackson gasps dramatically and Youngjae pulls the collar of the coat up to groan into it. He is immediately assaulted with the musky scent of Jaebum's sweat and his sweet smelling cologne.

It makes the fire in the pit of his stomach growls pleasantly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise if the pace is a bit too fast in this chapter with The Talk and The Date, but when I wrote it everything just fell into place so perfectly.  
> Also, a gigantic shoutout to bee7 for inspiring me when it comes to writing the date scene. That part is entirely dedicated to you and your wonderful self. Thank you so much for inspiring me with the date scene from HIM.  
> ALSO ALSO ALSO. To my wonderful readers: I've been given a gift y'all, by bee7!!! The fic is called HIM. Please check it out. THE PLOT IS SUPERB. And lemme tell you guys, it makes me think of sinful stuff *wiggle eyebrows* Seriously, check it out, IT IS SUCH AN AMAZING FIC I LOVE IT SO MUCH YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND. It inspired me to write the date scene when I was in a slum y'll, IT IS THAT AMAZING.  
> I seriously love HIM more than I like my own fics, no jokes.
> 
> Also, special note: Atlas by Shannon Saunders is the song of this fic.
> 
> On another note, would anyone be interested in reading the original smut fic for this Idol!AU though?


	4. Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (*˘︶˘*).｡.*♡  
> Sorry about the length, but ah, it's an Interlude so shortness is to be expected  
> Hopefully you guys will enjoy it nonetheless(｡>﹏<｡)

Jaebum is fucking ridiculous.

He is totally whipped. He's so far gone and falling so hard Jinyoung doesn't even know how to judge him anymore. He just eyes his hyung nonchalantly on his way to the front door with the managers as the older rolls around on the living room floor and sighs like a lovesick slob.

At first, the managers are judgemental as well when Jaebum is all smiley and giggley and always on the fucking phone. They got so creeped out by it that Jinyoung had a good laugh before telling him that Jaebum has a crush~  
The two of them just nodded in understanding then and let Jaebum does as he pleases. After all, this isn't the first time Jaebum court someone, so they let it runs it's course. Which turned out to be an extremely terrible horrible no good very bad idea, because Jaebum does not fucking stop texting. He's on the phone so much the managers once had to confiscated Jaebum's phone during a fanmeet like they were in debut days. And then they threw the device into the van's trunk for good measure. Manager-hyungs are so extra sometimes to be honest, Jinyoung approves. But then Jaebum got all uncharacteristacally pouty so the managers stop trying to talk sense into Jaebum.

Now they turn to Jinyoung for guidiance and begs the wise one into reining in Jaebum's love sickness. And at this point, manager-hyungs just ignore Jaebum like it's something they've been experiencing for the last seven years. They look at Jaebum and share an exasperated look before waving Jinyoung goodbye, with strict instruction to go on VLive on time this time please Jinyoungie.

"I'll try hyungs." Jinyoung replies with a laugh.

Jaebum chuckles and the three of them turn to look at him. Sungwoon, the oldest manager, manages to say "Ah, young love... what a cute thing to witness."

Hyun though huffs with mock disgust "Ew, no. He needs to be less whipped and come to himself again. It's so weird seeing him being cute and giggly. Bleh."

Jinyoung just laughs and waves them off. And honestly, Jinyoung also finds it weird to see Jaebum like this. He's seen Jaebum when he has a boyfriend/girlfriend. He's seen Jaebum trying to woo someone before. He's seen Jaebum crushing on people before. But he's never seen this. Never sees Jaebum this giddy and happy just from texting someone, just from the thought of someone. And Jinyoung hesitates, not wanting to name whatever it is love, but he can't find any other label to call it with. He looks at the light in Jaebum's eyes and how wide he smiles and how loud he laughs and Jinyoung can't find any other words to describe what he's seeing except love. Jinyoung thinks about how Jaebum's fingers tightened around his shoulder blades when he kept on saying 'Perfect.' over and over again and Jinyoung is certain that it is love, it has to be; it's too beautiful and too happy to be anything else but love.  
Jaebum giggles particularly loud as he has his face plastered to the small screen of his mobile phone. Jinyoung rolls his eyes so hard they nearly fall out, Jaebum is such a fucking dork. He sighs and tells the older "Hyung, stop being a dork and just ask him out already."

Jaebum gives him the sting eye from his position by the TV and Jinyoung ignores him by continuing to fiddle with the selfie stick. He expects an earful for being 'disrespectful' but all he gets is silence. So he glances at Jaebum to find the older grinning stupidly at his phone, his fingers working fast over the virtual keys. Jinyoung clicks his tongue and exclaims with a laugh "You are so fucking whipped hyung!"

"Yah!" Jaebum exclaims but still doesn't look away from the phone. Jinyoung sighs and stands up, walking toward the dinner that's laid out on the table. He looks toward his hyung and says "Stop being whipped for one fucking second and get up. We're gonna go on VLive."

Jaebum hums, getting onto his feet, and replies "Gimme a sec, I gotta tell him I'll be busy for the next few hours."  
Jinyoung's words die in his mouth as he looks at Jaebum with furrowed brows. Did they started dating without him knowing?

-

As they clean up after the VLive, Jinyoung asks Jaebum if he's dating Youngjae. He gets a sad smile and a head shake in return and Jinyoung is thoroughly confused. Why are they acting like dating even though they're not dating??

So Jinyoung furrows his brows and asks "Why aren't you?"

Jaebum looks at him perplexed and asks in return "What?"

Jinyoung rolls his eyes again, passing a wet dish to Jaebum for him to dry. He asks him slowly "Why aren't you dating?"

Jaebum stays silent and Jinyoung glances to the side to see Jaebum looking dumbstruck. He inhales and exhales a few times, floundering about for words. Finally he asks Jinyoung in return "Why do you think we're dating?"

"Because it seems like you are from what I see, on your side at least."  
Jaebum sighs "And that's the thing Jirongie, what you see on my side."  
Jinyoung hums softly, resuming the dish-washing, and waits for Jaebum to continue. The older man goes on after a few beats "I like him a lot Jinyoung-ah. I'm sure you know."

Jinyoung chuckles and replies "You came home and gushed about him for three days straight. I'm more than sure you like him."

Jaebum sighs, deep and heavy, and Jinyoung dries his hands and turns to look at his hyung in concern. He nudges the older with his shoulder playfully and asks "Hey, what's wrong hyung?"

Jaebum takes his time drying the last dish before he answers, leaning his weight onto the counter and sighing again.

"I like him a lot and I don't know what to do with it, that's the problem."  
Jinyoung coos and throws and arm around Jaebum's middle, rubbing his belly in comfort. He says "Hey, hey don't think like that. Don't think of your feelings as problems."

Jaebum turns aggressively around and frowns "Of course it's a fucking problem Jirongie. This thing can fuck with both of our career. It can fuck up both of our lives. South Korean isn't exactly kind even to bi people unless we're married to the opposite sex and have ten dozen kids. It is a fucking problem."

"Hey!" Jinyoung reprimands with a pinch to the soft skin of his belly and Jaebum hisses angrily. So Jinyoung switches to patting him gently and says matter-of-factly "You're serious about him."

"I-" Jaebum starts and frowns and goes completely silence. He's turning red and Jinyoung giggles adorably at his expense.

The both of them lapse into a comfortable silence by the sink, Jinyoung just humming and patting Jaebum's belly in a comforting manner. After a while, Jaebum breaks the silence and says "I don't even know why I'm being all serious and thinking about the future when I'm not sure if he likes me. I don't even know if he swings that way."

"You won't know until you ask, hyung." Jinyoung interjects and looks at his hyung meaningfully. Jaebum scoffs and bites back "I can't just ask."

Jinyoung raises a brow and asks back "And why the fuck not?"

Jaebum lets out an exasperated exhale and glares "Did you miss the part where this-this thing is going to mess with our career and fuck with our lives?"

"No, I didn't. But we're not going to be idols forever. And we can't just live the rest of our lives by other people's judgement." Jinyoung reasons, his hands coming up to rest on Jaebum's biceps and squeezes gently. He rubs soothing circle over the tense muscles and continues "He makes you happy and in love, are you going to just let those feelings go?"

"But is it worth it Jinyoung-ah?" Jaebum asks skeptically and the younger replies with a timid smile "Love and happiness are worth more than anything in life hyung."

Jinyoung would know, after all he waits and waits and waits and hurts just for a second chance at love. And he braves on because as long as Yugyeom smiles at him, as long as Yugyeom looks at him and says "Me too." Jinyoung knows time is just perspective and pain is just endurance. So he puts on a smile and waits. He can wait. He waits for more than half of his career already, a bit longer is okay. A while longer is okay. As long as Yugyeom looks at him and smile that beautiful timid smile of his, Jinyoung can do anything.

Jaebum looks at him funnily and chuckles "You're such a sap Jinyoung-ah."

Jinyoung pokes him in the side and replies "And you're whipped."  
Jaebum scoffs as Jinyoung turns his attention to his dinging phone. The younger thumbs it open as he tells Jaebum "Now stop being whipped for one fucking second and just ask him out already."

As he scrambles for his phone on the living room table, Jinyoung advises "We have this weekend to ourselves, take him out and do something nice and ask him."

Jinyoung can hear Jaebum's grumbling as he hastily clicks on the chat notification from Yugyeom. He finds himself smiling and hears Jaebum chuckling next to him. Jinyoung quickly locks his phones and scoffs. Jaebum is outright laughing now as he parrots Jinyoung's phrase back at him "Now stop being whipped for one fucking second and just ask him out already."

Jinyoung smacks his shoulder and pushes him toward his phone at the coffee table. He scolds "Shush and sort things out with your boy, Jaebum-hyung."

Jaebum wiggles his brows at Jinyoung suggestively and the younger just rolls his eyes in lieu of a reply, cheek dusting pink with shyness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JinGyeom's song is Love Me (Sunset Mix) by Jane XØ.  
> Also, Interludes will move the story into a new 'arc' *wiggle eyebrows*


	5. NOT AN UPDATE

hey guys,

i wanna start this announcement with an apology as i'm unable to produce anything of quality when it comes to the continuation of this fic. so, i'm sorry. i know i'm disappointing a lot of people, but i can't seem to write something i am happy with for this fic. and i've come to writing for it and feel guilty for writing for something else. again, i'm sorry that i made you guys waited for so long only to have this disheartening news. it's terribly unfair for you all and i'm deeply sorry.

i considered deleting it or just turning it into a mystery work, but i know some of you actually enjoy this fic... also, i'd like to write for it again; hence the fact that it's still up. but, for now, i'm unsure. i just can't seem to get into the right mindset for it.

however, if you any of you guys want a hand in continuing it, you're welcome to take it of my hands and write it. i have most of the ideas down already (i just have an extremely hard time writing it, and most of my other WIP fics) and im more than happy to share them and read what you come up with and even be a beta reader or co-author. i only ask that you put this fic in the 'inspired by' section if you want to write it.

thank you for your readership, your kindness and your understand.

ps. if you guys want, i could upload whatever i have written up for this fic.

 

**Author's Note:**

> [twitter ](https://twitter.com/noona96n)


End file.
